Our Parish History
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The Early Days......
More than sixty years have passed since the establishment of the parish of Our Lady of Graces and St Martin de Porres. The Dominican friars and sisters, and the faithful people of Belmont, Carina and Carindale have come from humble beginnings ... from Mass in a tent (illegally erected!)…… to the modern, solemnly consecrated (and perfectly legal) church in which we now worship. Once the decision was made to proceed with the development of a Dominican Parish at Carina, there was an understandable enthusiasm for the establishment of the usual buildings associated with a Catholic Parish. The first official Parish Mass was celebrated in a large marquee on that very significant day in 1952. From then on there was a great commitment on the part of the founding parishioners to see that more permanent structures were in place as soon as humanly possible. |
1952 - Our place of worship for the first three months
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1953 - Father David Lewis and Father Lou Whelan supervising the construction of the first church. (The Dominic Centre)
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The area of land situated between Mayfield Road and Broadway Street at Carina, presently occupied by the Church and primary school buildings, had been acquired by Archbishop James Duhig for the future development of a Catholic Parish. The Archbishop was obviously a man of great vision, and the land was to become the focal point for a large and active parish.
The original marquee remained in place for the first three months of the life of the new parish. During this initial period, a group of volunteers worked energetically to erect a timber structure near a creek, which then ran through the property. That structure, still on site, was the first permanent Church occupied by Our Lady of Graces Church at Carina. It is worth noting that this structure had canvas sides, which would be rolled up as required. |
